EXPERIMENTS ON DIABETICS CARRY ON
Endocrinologists are Unaware of New Medicines
Azg/arm
16 Dec 04
There are around 20-25 thousand diabetics in Armenia according to
different figures. After Armenia gained independence in 1991, the
state was providing exclusively animal insulin which is cheaper
compared to the human insulin. This year the state imported only human
insulin. Some of the specialists confessed that diverse complications
during the treatment where the result of the animal insulin. Others
became alarmed that the change from one type of insulin to the other
will have negative impact on the insulin-dependants. But the new
insulin went into hospitals without passing additional tests and put
the patients in the situation of a laboratory animal.
Today both the endocrinologists and insulin-dependants are facing a
new experiment. MP Napoleon Azizian declared at the parliament that a
suspicious insulin of Egyptian origin, which is registered only in
Palestine and Nigeria, has entered Armenia.
But the healthcare minister, Norair Davidian, said that the Egyptian
insulin has an international certificate and meets all the
characteristics of human insulin. According to Davidian, 60 percent of
the insulin is consumed in Egypt and around 250 million people in the
world use it.
Later on Napoleon Azizian informed Azg Daily that he failed to find
facts proving the healthcare minister and could not find nay
information that thedrug is registered. Azizian assures that he has
talked with a dozen of endocrinologists and “none of them has
information on the medicine”.
To all appearances, it is uncertain as to what effect will the new
insulin, which has never been used in Armenia before, have on the
diabetics.
We tried to find out how aware the Armenian endocrinologists are. We
will withhold their names as they requested. Here is what a renowned
specialist says: “I have never read about the Egyptian insulin
anywhere. Armenian insulin-dependants today use not only the insulin
registered in the republic but also drugs sent from abroad by their
relatives, but I have never come across that kind of insulin. No
medical directory mentions of such a drug. I participated in many
international congresses and conferences where the insulin providers
all over the world were exhibited, but never noticed anything with
that name”.
Another specialist thinks: “The fact that the drag was never
introduced speaks well for its quality. There is no indication to this
insulin even inthe Internet”.
Chief endocrinologist of Armenia, Ashot Mamikonian, tried to evade a
direct answer and said that the issue is within pharmacists’
jurisdiction.
We found out that our specialists had expressed their worries over
importing the unknown insulin but no one listened to them.
The new medicine is being put in use, as in the case of the human
insulin.
A tender is going to define the organization that will import the new
drug to Armenia.
Egyptian Vaksera Company is the supplier of the insulin. It is only
bottling the Polish insulin. By the way, Poland is not a recognized
insulin supplier too.
Perhaps the fact that Vaksera Company offers a double low price for
the insulin is the reason why the Armenian authorities went on risking
peoples’ health.
By Karine Danielian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress